I’m incredibly proud that Stockport Council has been recognised for its pioneering use of digital and data to transform services for residents. This week, at the 2022 Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards, we received the Digital Impact Award, after demonstrating the data-driven culture that underpins our digital transformation.
This recognition by LGC really highlights how innovative use of this crucial asset has allowed us to make standout digital improvements, transform services and create better outcomes for residents. The award recognised our:
- Family Context Tool– an open-source digital tool to support social worker decision-making and improve outcomes for families
- Open data platform– an online open data portal to share datasets with partners and the voluntary sector, supporting collaboration and innovation to achieve better resident outcomes
- Open-source mapping tool– developed to help residents report faulty streetlights, blocked drains and floods and shared with wider colleagues and partners
- Use of data during Covid-19 response – to target Covid vaccines, focusing on inequalities, helping us to achieve the best vaccination rates across Greater Manchester
It’s great to read the judges’ comments:
A standout, corporate-wide initiative to put data at the heart of the organisation. Impressive technical data platform infrastructure enabling remarkable projects with very clear impacts, and helping drive real change. This work is absolutely embedded in the corporate organisation and is the culmination of a long-term strategy to drive improvement through data and evidence. With the maturity of the programme multiple successful projects are delivery rapid benefit realisation. A worthy winner.
But more rewarding still are the comments from colleagues and partners using the new data-driven tools. Such as Children’s Services social workers who now benefit from daily use of the Family Context tool:
Time, time, time. It’s absolutely amazing to be able to bring everything together very quickly. We’re so busy that being able to do something in 20 minutes rather than 2 hours makes such a difference to us.
I’d never have had that information had I not seen it on there. I just wouldn’t have asked. It helped inform what the intervention was going to be for that family.
A key priority of our One Stockport Borough Plan is to be a radically digital borough. Our Radically Digital Stockport Strategy aims to maximise the opportunities of the digital era and ensure that everyone is digitally included. Innovative use of data is one of the critical building blocks that will support these digital ambitions and keep Stockport at the forefront digitally.
We’ll continue to update on Radically Digital Stockport through this blog, but if you’ve any questions or suggestions for ways we could collaborate on data-driven projects, please get in touch.